Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy prepared for CCL in a deluge
LA Galaxy hosted Seattle Sounders on Wednesday for one last tune-up ahead of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal first legs next week. Both teams hoped to use the match as meaningful preparation for the challenges ahead over the next fortnight.
Instead, they played in the middle of a rare southern California rainstorm.
Seattle -- now without Obafemi Martins -- ran away with a 4-0 victory in the close-door scrimmage at StubHub Center, but the weather emerged as the true winner on the night.
Just watch what happened when Steven Gerrard collected a pass from Nigel de Jong and hit a diagonal out to the right wing:
??? pic.twitter.com/Jd7r2cRSKc
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) February 18, 2016
All of that extra water had its uses, though. Look at how the ball skipped when Jordan Morris latched onto a ball over the top to set Clint Dempsey up for the third goal just after halftime:
.@JmoSmooth13 ---> @clint_dempsey (get used to hearing that!)#Sounders up 3-0: https://t.co/yWydqTJu2u pic.twitter.com/B39fJeaeLu
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) February 18, 2016
Both teams leaned on their starters and made the best of a peculiar situation, but the entire scenario left everyone just a little bit soggy:
¯_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/bKR2HF2MJ2
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) February 18, 2016
As one might expect, Seattle emerged victorious on a rainy night. Andreas Ivanschitz scored twice, while Dempsey and Chad Marshall also struck for the Sounders. Here are the full highlights from the match, courtesy of LA Galaxy:
Both MLS teams will dry off ahead of the first legs of their quarterfinals next week. Seattle hosts Club América at CenturyLink Field on Tuesday (live, 10:00p.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports GO), while the Galaxy welcomes Santos Laguna to StubHub Center on Wednesday (live, 10:00p.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports GO).